What are some different varieties of shallots?

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Quick Answer

Pikant, saffron, conservor, zebrune and sante are some varieties of shallots. The Cornell University citizen science program, Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners, lists approximately 27 varieties of shallot on its website, VegVariety.CCE.Cornell.edu.

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Many well-known varieties fall into the categories of French, German and Dutch shallots, such as the Holland red, French red, French demi-long, Dutch yellow and old German red. Like the old German red, the zebrune is an heirloom variety, whereas the ambition shallot is a hybrid.

All shallot varieties tend to have an oval or round bulb and external and internal coloring that goes from white to cream, brown, red and purple. Some shallot varieties bear additional identifying markings and coloration within the flesh. The sante, for instance, has pinkish-white flesh inside of brown-skinned bulbs.

French varieties tend to have skin and flesh on the reddish-brown side of the spectrum, while the skin of Dutch varieties is usually more yellow-orange. Dutch varieties are slightly more pungent than French varieties, states Gardening.Cornell.edu.